Executive Search Lead

As an Executive Search Lead at Payward (the parent company behind Kraken, NinjaTrader, Breakout, xStocks, Payward Services and CF Benchmarks), you own executive recruiting end to end across a globally distributed platform. You partner directly with the Co-CEOs and executive team on high-stakes searches, handling confidential mandates with discretion while operating as a trusted advisor to the Board, C-Suite and broader leadership. This role runs as a Payward-wide shared service and reports to the Global Head of Talent Acquisition with a dotted line to the Chief People Officer.

What you'll do

• Own executive recruiting end to end across the Payward platform, covering C-level, Board, VP+ and bespoke Advisor mandates
• Partner directly with the Co-CEOs and executive team on critical searches, absorbing their pace and operating as a trusted advisor
• Run board and advisory mandates with the discretion and confidentiality they require
• Define how executive hiring scales as a shared service across a growing, multi-brand platform
• Own the external search partner strategy by managing relationships with key retained firms and ensuring seamless collaboration when they are engaged
• Report to the Head of Talent and operate as a member of the talent leadership team with a dotted line into the Chief People Officer

What you bring

• 6+ years of executive recruiting experience with demonstrable ownership of executive searches (VP, C-level, Board) from mandate through close
• A selection mindset over a screening one, calibrating candidates against business strategy and defending shortlists to skeptical executive audiences
• Proven strength in closing and negotiation at the executive level, including pre-closing, offer construction, and equity and compensation complexity
• Experience partnering closely with Compensation and Benefits teams and HR business partners to ensure alignment throughout a search lifecycle
• Business acumen to understand and pitch a complex platform business credibly to executive candidates
• Proven management of agency and retained-firm relationships, including briefing, accountability and spend control
• Exceptional written and verbal English at executive register
• A track record of conducting executive searches with discretion
• Comfort operating in ambiguity, with responsiveness to candidates and executives across all time zones
• Location in the San Francisco Bay Area, given the proximity this role requires to executives and board and advisory mandates

Nice to have

• In-house executive recruiting experience at a fintech, brokerage, exchange or payments company
• Background inside a retained executive search firm in addition to in-house work
• Experience building executive recruiting as a shared service across multiple entities or portfolio companies
• Exposure to crypto or digital assets

About Payward

Payward is the parent company behind Kraken, NinjaTrader, Breakout, xStocks, Payward Services and CF Benchmarks. Over the last 15 years, Payward has built one of the most modern and globally accessible financial infrastructure platforms in the industry, designed to advance an open, global financial system.